HOW TO TRAIN MY CAT

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Monday, 26 November 2012

Neuter
your Kitty Sooner Rather than Later

I don't want to be neutered

Should you neuter your cat? There are those who have kittens
who think it’s a dreadful idea, then there are those who don’t have cats and think all cats should be
neutered and so get a reputation for not liking cats.

The
truth of the situation is that unless you want your cat to have, or father,
kittens of its own, you really need to consider neutering your cat as soon
as possible. Many people think that
they have to wait until their cat goes through her first “heat” cycle. This isn’t the case. She’ll be just fine if you get her done as
soon as her system is mature enough to cope.
Usually this is around 5 months old.
If you wait and she has that cycle, be prepared for the loudly
serenading “beaus” who come “calling” at 2am!

Neutering
your cat early means that they are less likely to have much reaction to the
operation at all – as with humans, the young are more adaptable to their
situations. Within a couple of hours of
surgery, a neutered kitten is likely to be back on his feet and wobbling in the
direction of his supper! He will wash
and wash at the stitches until you are terrified that he will wash them out,
and you’ll take some preventative measure to ensure that nothing happens to
them overnight! By the next day kitty
should be swinging once again from your curtains.

Although
most cat owners can see the advantage of neutering their queen, not many
realize that by neutering a tom, they not only stop him from populating the
local area with off-spring, but they will take that “tom cat” smell away. The urine of a neutered tom cat usually
smells less intrusive that that of a non-neutered one.

Regardless
what some people may think, neutering your kitten isn’t a negative thing. If anything you are liberating your cat to
go out into the world, confident that it’s not going to be helping to populate
it!

Wednesday, 21 November 2012

Grooming
your Kitty

Cats
are, by nature, clean animals and don’t like being dirty. This is also true about kittens. Even the youngest kitty can be seen trying
to wash itself. There are instances
during your cat’s life however when it will be unable to groom itself, or it
could be that the kind of cat you choose has high maintenance fur (such as a
long hair Persian) and needs a little extra help to keep its fur in good
condition.

Despite
not wanting to be dirty, and despite the constant self-grooming, this does not
automatically mean that your kitten is going to enjoy your interference in its
personal grooming routine. The best way
to avoid this is to introduce your kitten to being groomed by you from the very
start. If you get into an immediate habit
of combing and brushing kitty once or twice a week, then if the day comes when
he’s just in too much mess, or too sick to manage himself, then he won’t mind
your intervention.

Although
you won’t be able to introduce him to a bath, you can introduce him to the idea
of a bath using a dish (without water) and a damp face cloth, but this should
be done every few weeks. Grooming in
the form of brushing however should be done more frequently. One perfect time for this is at night when
you’re watching TV and kitty crawls up onto your lap.

Have a brush to hand (a baby brush is fine for a short haired
kitten) and gently brush the kitten in the direction his fur grows. He’ll get used to how this feels, and often
will start to purr his approval. If you
have a longer-furred kitten, set aside half an hour at least twice a week to
thoroughly comb through his coat. This
will ensure that tangles don’t build up and his coat will remain healthy
looking.

As he
gets older, and is allowed outdoors, make sure that you spend 5-10 minutes with
him every week to gently put the flea comb through his fur. This means that you are sure that he remains
flea-free, and at the very least, can initiate a flea-removal treatment should
your comb find something.

The
time you invest grooming your kitten will pay dividends when he becomes a cat
that needs help with cleaning his fur.
A cat that is used to being groomed is far easier to maintain than one
who turns every grooming session into a battle of wills!

Friday, 24 February 2012

Best cat deShedding tool ever!!! It even
comes with a fur ejector button., 9 Feb 2011

This product is excellent. When used
regularly it will leave your animal with a sleeky coat and does reduce
shedding
by quite a lot. The ejector button is fantastic and really works -
essential if
you need to keep one hand on the animal to stop it running away. A few
words of
caution though:

1) Use this product gently and don't
overdo it. The first time I tried it on my cat I was rather overzealous
and he
looked distinctly thinner on top!

2) There are a lot of fakes out there so
ensure you buy from Amazon itself or a reputable dealer.
Yes, the furminator is pricey but the
genuine article does the job extremely well.

Another bonus is that the furminator is
great for removing hairs from smooth fabrics such as cotton bedding and
fleece
blankets. Again, however, use with caution as it can snag fabric if
sufficient
care is not taken.

Tuesday, 21 February 2012

Cats love to be stroked, so it is easy to teach your cat to accept brushing. Brushing will help to remove loose hair and prevent kitty getting a fur ball stuck in his throat.

It also helps to remove irritating prickles he may have picked up on his walks outside.You will be able to keep tabs on his general health if you brush him regularly, too.Choose a time when kitty is feeling a bit sleepy and wants to curl up on your warmlap. Have the brush handy so you don’t have to disturb him to get it. If he hasn’t seenthe brush before, hold it near his face so he can sniff it all over if he wants. In this wayhe will understand that it won’t hurt him and so he won’t be frightened of it.

Ooh! that's lovely

In fact, it’s a good idea to rub your own hands along the handle of the brush so he can detect

your scent on it. If he’s used to you, he will be reassured that this strange tool is to betrusted.Once he has inspected and accepted the brush, begin to brush your cat with slow andgently movements. Always brush with the lay of the hair, not against it. If kitty tries tograb the brush with his paws to play with it, put it away immediately. You don’t wanthim to start playing every time he sees the brush, you want him to learn to keep stilland let you brush him.As soon as kitty has quieted down, start to brush him again. Start at about ear leveland work backwards with a long, fluid movement. Never try to brush his face, or youmight damage his delicate eyes and whiskers. Brushing the tangles out of badlymatted hair can cause pain, so be careful to do it gently. If kitty expects pain everytime he sees the brush, he won’t be amenable to the process.

Not now

Several different brushes can be useful when grooming your pet. A large brush withstiff bristles is good for the body, while a smaller, softer brush can be easier to managethe belly and tail. If your cat has long tail hairs, you may need a brush with bristlesthat are a little stiffer then the smaller brush has. A comb can also be a handy part ofyour cat grooming toolbox.

Wednesday, 15 February 2012

You need to make sure that your cat will come to you
when you call him/her for several reasons. You may not want to leave him outside if you need to
leave the house for a while. You may want him to come indoors at night. You may have seen dogs or other cats about
and wish to protect him from unecessary confrontations,
especially if he is young.

It
is quite easy to train a cat to come when called and the simplest way is to use
his feeding routine as the training ground. It's not important to try to teach him his
name as a cat's name is only significant to its owners, the cat really isn't
bothered! Owners like to give their cat a name but a
cat will answer to anything as long as it is spoken in the same tone of
voice. It is the basic sound of the call which
matters.

But back to using food for training. At feeding time, make a loud and specific noise, like rattling a
spoon or knife on the side of the can of cat food. If he eats mainly dry food
shake the box of cat biscuits as loudly as you
can. He will soon learn to associate
these sounds with feeding time and will
come at once.

At the same time repeat his name over and
over again, loudly enough for him to hear it as you rattle the cat food can or
shake the biscuit box. He will learn to link the sound of his
name, together with the other noises, with being fed and will come very
quickly.

cats eating

Soon you will find that he comes running
up to you just when you call his name, without the other feeding noises being
present. Of course, rewarding him with a little
treat will help reinforce this good behaviour.

If it's not feeding time but he has still come when you called offer him
something nice, whether it is a food treat, petting and words of praise or some
playtime together. A simple home-made
toy, such as a scrap of paper tied to a string, can provide great fun,
especially for kittens. Cats respond as
much to affectionate attention as to food and when this is used to encourage
desirable behaviour it produces good results.

Some cats can be a bit slow to pick up the
cues an owner gives them. If your cat
doesn't come for food as soon as he hears the signals, feed him a smaller
amount. He will respond much more
readily if he is really hungry, so call his name loudly while you rattle that
spoon in the can or shake that biscuit box!

Monday, 13 February 2012

You may be quite happy for your cat to wander outside if you have a yard or garden or live in a rural area but it is a different matter when you live in a built-up district with busy traffic routes nearby.

Cats are full of curiosity and will usually head for the door the moment it is opened. After a quick look round, off they go to explore the territory, which can be full of dangers and frightening experiences.

It is a sad fact that large numbers of cats are killed every year on our roads. This is obviously a tragedy for the cats concerned and also for their owners who will be heartbroken at the loss of their beloved pet. Serious injuries occur as well as deaths, which cause the poor animal untold pain and cost their loving owners a fortune in vet's bills.

Apart from these horrors the great outdoors in an urban environment can be extremely frightening for a cat. It is full of sudden loud noises of every pitch. Fast-moving vehicles approach from all directions and there are too many people rushing around.

Who's the prettiest?

So how do you stop your cat from rushing outside every time you open the door? This is no easy task but it can be done with perseverance and patience. Of course, it is easier to train a young kitten in the way you want it to behave than an adult cat whose habits are already well-formed.

As with any form of animal training the best approach is to work with the cat's natural instincts. It is well-known that cats hate sudden loud noises which they perceive as a threat. So when you see your cat heading for the open door, startle them by banging an object such as a heavy book or rolled-up newspaper onto a hard surface, or clap your hands loudly while yelling 'NO' at the top of your voice, - anything to stop them in their tracks and get them to turn back to the safety of the room.

BUT - make sure you are between the cat and the door when you do this. DON'T EVER do it when you are behind the cat or you will get the opposite effect and scare him/her right out of the door!

I can't get down now

Another effective method is to get someone else to stand just outside the open door with a water pistol or spray bottle. As soon as the cat tries to go outside give it a good squirt on the nose which will send him straight back inside. If this person can make the loud scary noise at the same time, or if you can enlist a third person to do this, it will be even more of an effective deterrent.

Your role is to wait inside the room so that when the poor frightened cat comes running back inside you can be there to welcome him with open arms, to cuddle and soothe him and praise him for being a good cat. This would be a good opportunity to give him a treat.

Best of all, if you have time to call the cat back before he gets to the open door, do so in a voice full of alarm. Do this before the scary noise and the water spray happen and he will soon realise that your alarmed voice is warning him that something nasty is going to happen to him and that he had better avoid it.

Cat outside my house

This could also be useful in other situations. If you see him about to jump over a neighbour's fence, for example, or go somewhere where you know there's a dog, or a rival cat, calling him back in an alarmed voice will tell him there's the threat of danger.

Sunday, 5 February 2012

A very important
message to get across to your cat from day one is that tables and
kitchen worktops (or counters) are 'no go' areas as far as he/she is
concerned. And that means always. Some people don't seem to
have problem with this. Even houseproud people who take a pride
in keeping their home neat and clean can somehow find it cute to have
their cat up close beside them as they prepare their family's meals
etc.

Such people may insist that their cat is very clean - "Look
how often she washes herself" they argue. Unfortunately cats'
paws, (not to mention their rear ends!), carry literally millions of
bacteria which are known to be dangerous to humans. Such powerful
germs cannot be removed by a cat's lick, however thoroughly she seems
to do it.

When your cat
uses its litter tray it will pick up these dangerous bugs on its feet
from scratching and scraping around in the litter. If it
goes to the toilet outdoors the same thing will happen as she
conscientiously tries to cover up what she has done.

If she jumps up onto your food preparation or eating surfaces
afterwards she can't avoid donating a generous load of these bugs to
you and your family. Sitting down on the surface makes it even
worse as cats are not known for using toilet paper or wearing
pants!

Allowing your cat to persist in this unsanitary behaviour is a real
health hazard. So, don't lose any time in training her in more
hygienic habits.

Cats on worktops
can be dangerous in other ways too. They can cause a distraction
when hot food, pots and pans are around causing burns or scalds or they
can knock something over, causing accidents or breakages. So how
do we break this bad habit?

The trick is to
use something she hates to change her behaviour. Most cats hate
sudden,
loud noise. They associate it with a sense of danger so want to
escape to a safe place. If you make a loud noise in her face when
she jumps up, she’ll quickly jump back down. Make sure you repeat
the noise every time she repeats the behaviour and she'll soon get the
message that it's not a good idea and stop doing it.

There are all
kinds of noises that different people favour when training their
cat. It can be very effective just to say "No", loudly and
firmly, to the cat's face every time she jumps up. An empty
plastic bottle containing a few pebbles or marbles can work well if you
rattle it loudly in the cat's face. A glass bottle makes more
noise but there is the risk that it might break and cause injury.

Some cat owners
say that growling in the cat's face works, as this is the way that
mother cats train their kittens about what is and is not
permitted. This is one way in which cats naturally communicate
with each other so hopefully the message will get through to your
pet.

Many people just
roll a few sheets of newspaper up and smack it down on the table or
worktop right in front of the cat. This should startle her enough to
make her jump off. If she doesn't, pick her up by the scruff of
the neck, the way a mother cat would, and put her down on the floor.

Another method
is to spray the cat in the face with a spray bottle of clean cold
water. This will cause her no harm but she won't enjoy it and will run
for cover!

If, in spite of
all your best efforts, your cat still insists on jumping up where she
shouldn't be, try using lots of different methods at the same time. You
could try blowing a child's toy horn in her face the minute she jumps
up while spraying her face with cold water at the same time and then
giving her a sharp tap on the head with the rolled up newspaper.
If you are firm about following this routine every time she tries to
jump up she'll soon get sick of it and think it's just not worth all
the stress!

What you must
never, ever do is to pick your cat up from the table or work surface
and then give her a kiss and a cuddle. This is just rewarding the
cat for the very behaviour you are trying to discourage and she will be
totally confused. When she wants some more of your affectionate
attention she will repeat the same behaviour you are telling her to
stop. So, your own behaviour should be firm, clear and
consistent. This is the only way to get positive results.
Good luck!You might find the following books useful:- 1. Stop Cat Peeing2. 18 Ways to Stop Cat Urine Odour3. Solutions to Your Cat's Behaviour Problems4. Ultimate Cat Secrets